The HabForum

I was at the Astronaut Hall of Fame recently and I was very disappointed with the condition of the place. Attractions and the gift shop were closed along with various exhibits needing repair. I know that they're going to move everything over to the Visitors Center eventually yet it was very sad to see. I remember when you used to be able to walk through the shuttle sitting out front.

I agree. Myself, PK and Steve were down there last month. The place was sort of sad and a shell of what it'd been in 2011, the last time I'd been there before. Several displays I saw back then weren't there now. And yeah, I too was shocked to see the gift shop was completely empty as they'd had stuff the main center's gift shop didn't have. I think we were in there for a little over an hour and took time to see what we'd wanted to look at. The Mars 'simulator' ride was a freaking joke, too. Don't bother wasting your time with that unless you're a kid or have kids (they'll find it tedious, too, I'd bet).
Frankly, the main KSC visitor center seems to be really doing a great job, there's no reason why the contents of the Hall of Fame can't be moved to where everyone else is already. It's also open on very odd hours and is a nightmare to get out of (you can't leave there to head back to the mainland, there's only a right turn and no legal turnarounds anywhere nearby, but I risked it anyway when we left the place).
It'll be sad once they close the doors there, as this is where SC Florida used to be and there's that giant Al Bean mural as you walk into the place, which couldn't possibly be relocated.

I refused to go to the Astronaut Hall Of Fame/Space Camp Florida when I visited last fall. Over the last several years, I had heard all the stories of how things had declined, and chose not to visit. I was around when the place opened, and in the glory days when Space Camp Florida was around. I did not want to subject myself to the depression.

I will be back in the area again in a few weeks for the Orion launch. This will be an awesome time filled with lots of activities in this area, and I will likely end up going back to the Astronaut Hall Of Fame for the first time in a long while. It would be nice if I could see the place in good condition again.

Hotdog, I was there on 11/10 so be forewarned.

BTW, Space Shirts told me that they will be offering Orion/EFT-1 shirts starting next week.

Next week? They waited until the last minute, didn't they?

Speaking of merch, I heard we will have some new Space Camp Alumni items in the Sprocket gift shop soon...

Hotdog wrote:I heard we will have some new Space Camp Alumni items in the Sprocket gift shop soon...

WOO HOO, I just hope they list them online...

I will be looking for them for sure!!!

Hotdog wrote:Next week? They waited until the last minute, didn't they?

Hard to blame them if you've seen how many shuttle shirts they still have.... What surprised me more was that the Visitors Center had nothing EFT-1...

Now all the signage reads ATX Center

https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/thin ... ience.aspx

It sounds like they are running the something like a 3-day camp squeezed into 5 hours. Pretty intense, although I doubt that there is much depth.

I have the AHOF pin and patch. Always loved that logo. I'm glad it's being moved to the KSCVC, where it will be appreciated. I saw it in its former glory, so it was indeed sad to see it last year with Lee and Steve.

I'll be there in a couple of weeks!

Hotdog wrote:I'll be there in a couple of weeks!

Used a $10.65 refundable if you return within 90 minutes shopping pass today to go to the Space Shop. It was available at Information. Got a couple of things, put a few back such as a shirt showing an orbiter flying with the tailcone and Orion with the Mickey Mouse ears solar panels... The Shuttle Launch Experience orange flight suit was tempting (figured I could remove the patches) but the 80/20 blend felt cheap (made in China).

majtom7 wrote:The Shuttle Launch Experience orange flight suit was tempting (figured I could remove the patches) but the 80/20 blend felt cheap (made in China).

For a very short time, I had one of the blue ones and decided to get rid of it. If you ever mail order one, be warned, they're really marked one size large than they really are. So if, for example, you normally wear a large, you probably want to get an XL one...
But yeah, I was tempted by them when I was there last year, but it came down to how likely I'd ever be to wear it. The answer was, not very.